Rally presses Fremont City Council on rapidly rising rents

FREMONT -- Miguel Gomez was thriving before the economic collapse six years ago. He was a floor installer in Fremont, where he owned a home and was raising his children.

But when the economy went south, so did his job, and then his house. He and his family now share a smaller home with several other people, trading their quality of life for much lower rent until he can find steady work.

Gomez's hard-luck tale was one of several told Thursday night outside City Hall, where more than 50 residents and religious leaders called on Fremont leaders to make the city more affordable for working families.

Dozens of people at the hourlong rally waved signs reading, "Affordable housing for Fremont," and "Raise the minimum wage," among others

Several speakers echoed those sentiments, demanding that City Hall control rents, increase the minimum wage and provide more job training.

"We're here to fight for all the people, for the workforce of this city," said Deacon Jorge Lara, of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Fremont. "A lot of money is coming into this city and we have the same rights as the rich people."

Rapidly rising rents are forcing longtime residents out of town, said leaders of Congregations Organizing for Renewal, a faith-based group that sponsored the rally.

"We're launching this campaign so that ordinary people can stay in the city that they love," said group spokeswoman Allison Lasser said. "Is Fremont going to remain a city for all?"

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The average monthly rent for Fremont apartments has increased by more than $550 in the past four years, a 37.5 percent increase, according to RealFacts, a Marin County-based company that studies housing rental data. Inflation rose by 8.4 percent during that period. Some rally speakers demanded that jobs be set aside for residents when construction starts on the city's planned mixed-use developments on 110 acres in the Central-Downtown neighborhood, and on 850 acres near the Warm Springs/South Fremont BART station.

Fremont City Councilman Vinnie Bacon, the only city leader at the gathering, said he supports the activists' calls for job training, saying he wants a training center in the Warm Springs development.

"If we had that for people who are out of work, it'll help a lot," Bacon said.

Meanwhile, advocates say the city should do more to ensure that low- and middle-income residents benefit from those projects.

"Don't displace us, embrace us," said Gehad Massoud, of the Timelist Group, a Hayward nonprofit group helping ex-convicts move back into society. "We're alerting the city that ... we want to be involved in the discussions they have with developers. We want to live here long after the developments are built."